At the beginning of Tuesday’s West Liberty Village Council meeting, Brenda Coy was sworn in by West Liberty Mayor Brad Hudson after being recommended to the open position by Hudson last month.
Then, towards the end of the meeting, council member Brooke Markin informed the body that she will be moving out of the village in the near future and will be stepping down after the June meeting.
Between the two personnel moves, the council gave final reading to Ordinance 2026-05, which will increase temporary dumpster rental rates in the village, effective in July.
Additionally, Village Administrator Richard Ford informed the council that workers currently repairing sewer lines on Linden Street have discovered that individual lines to residents’ homes are also damaged and filled with roots. Ford said the company had agreed in principle to repair the damaged lines, pending council approval.
Village Solicitor Chris Moell told the council that the Ohio Revised Code allows councils to waive the bid application process and proceed with work in emergency circumstances. He advised that if the council determines that repairing the sewer lines constitutes an emergency, they could approve the work without advertising for bids.
After discussion, the council declared the needed work constitutes an emergency. A motion to waive the bid process was passed unanimously, and the expenditure was approved. Administrator Ford discusses the issues that were found:
The council also approved Environmental Science to complete EPA work on Onion Creek, which will remove invasive plants from the stream and remove silt that appears to be interfering with trout spawning.
The council also debated adding a replacement 5-mil levy to the November ballot. Administrator Ford informed the council that changes to the Ohio Revised Code prohibit municipalities from asking voters to approve a replacement levy. Ford said that if the levy is added to the ballot and approved, property owners in the village will not see additional taxes levied unless they add structures or other major improvements to their property.
After much discussion, the council agreed to move forward with adding the levy to the November ballot.
In ‘Old Business,’ the council debated contracting for more dumpsters to be brought to the village for residents to dispose of rubbish. The council determined that they will seek three 30-yard dumpsters to be brought to the village for a village clean-up on June 20, provided they can secure the dumpsters. Information will be relayed to village residents as soon as possible.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
